U.S. orders non-essential staff out of consulate in Pakistan’s Lahore

The U.S. government ordered the evacuation of non-essential staff from its consulate in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday due to the threat of attack, with the State Department also warning U.S. citizens not to travel to Pakistan.

“The Department of State ordered this drawdown due to specific threats concerning the U.S. consulate in Lahore,” said a travel warning posted on the Department of State’s website on Thursday.

The warning in Lahore, near Pakistan’s border with India, comes two days after Washington evacuated some diplomats from Yemen and told its nationals to leave that country immediately.

The United States shut nearly two dozen missions across the Middle East after a worldwide alert on August 2, warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.